


Pastries and Heroin

by punkrocklouis



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrocklouis/pseuds/punkrocklouis
Summary: A day trip in an overcast Phoenix, Arizona. Pre-Twilight
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan
Kudos: 7





	Pastries and Heroin

He was surprised when the Arizona skies were cloudy, so he would take advantage of this moment. Jasper was worried, he could tell, but Edward always had his thoughts running through his mind. He wouldn’t let Jasper do anything dangerous, plus they had just hunted. They would be fine. 

Jasper pushed the door to the cafe open first, apprehension leaking from his skin. Edward was close behind him. 

Are we sure about this? Jasper’s inner monologue said directly to Edward. They both moved towards the short line, past all the humans in the lobby. 

“It’s fine,” Edward said to him in a quiet, yet clear voice. The thoughts around him buzzed, many turning their attentions to the two who just walked in. 

The barista thought that Edward and Jasper hadn’t been to the cafe before. The man at the far right table envied their good looks. The girl in front of the two wondered if she should say something kind to them. 

The voices of people’s heads were a constant buzz in Edward’s brain. Constantly. He had gotten used to the feeling of reading other people’s thoughts. It was definitely nothing new to him after all these decades. 

“I’ll have a small black coffee,” Jasper said once his turn in the line came up. “Edward?”

He removed himself from his own head for a moment to answer the awaiting barista, “Green tea, please.” He placed a five dollar bill in her awaiting hand and they waited briefly for their drinks to be made in silence. Once they were made, Edward retrieved his own and sat at a table near the entrance. 

Jasper sat across from him, while his back was against the wall. He took in the scene before him. “When I was a kid,” Edward explained slowly. “My father used to take me to this bakery. We would just sit together while I read my schoolbooks and he would just people watch.”

Jasper, who stood straight backed in his chair, nodded slowly. Too slow for a normal human, but that was okay. He was nervous to sit in this cafe for that long. 

“He told me that, even though I knew the pastries at the bakery were delicious, I need not taste one. ‘You know how they taste, Edward,’ he would say. ‘Don’t you want to share that with the world?’”

"They're not pastries, Edward," Jasper sighed, although neither of them needed to exhale. He simply did it out of exasperation. "They're heroin."

"I never did heroin," Edward said with a smug look on his face. He pretended to take a drink of his tea. "Just let yourself bask in this wonderful smell."

"Wonderful smell," Jasper glared at Edward with a menacing look. His thoughts were filled with each individual scent of human in the room.

Jasper and Edward had just gotten back from Texas. They met some of Jasper's old friends from before Edward's time. The rest of the Cullens were hunting in the plains, but he and Jasper had hunted on their way back to their house in Alaska. They had lived in Alaska for the past three years, and soon enough, they would have to move to a new location to begin their lives again. At least now, he had graduated from the high school. Another graduation cap for the frame. 

"Peter and Charlotte seem nice," Edward made an offhand comment to try to detract Jasper from the thirsty thoughts he had.

"Yes," Jasper said quietly. Edward honestly didn't know what to think about the newest member of his coven. He was quiet, even moreso than him. His thoughts were loud, and out of respect for the old vampire, he tried to stay out of them. Alice was trustworthy. She adapted quickly to the lifestyle because of how new she was to the eternal life she had been damned with. Jasper, however, was used to satisfying the bloodlust he had for humans. He craved it more than anyone in the family, and of no fault of him. His creator made sure he was a monster to create and hone out an army he trained himself. That much Jasper had told the family. Only Alice and Edward knew his inner turmoil with the feelings humans felt when they died. Not only is dying from a ravaging vampire physically painful, but it is the most raw emotional response when the victim knows they will die. Edward knew it pained Jasper, haunted him for the rest of his eternal lifetime. 

All of the sudden, in the midst of his thoughts about Jasper, three girls approached the cafe. Teenage blood smelled different than aged blood. Young, probably younger than eighteen.

Edward's eyes darted to the glass door, seeing the girls giggling as they walked into the cafe. He tried to cool his staring at these girls, lest Jasper whip his head around too fast for a normal human. Instead of blantantly staring, he settled for reading their thoughts and listening while staring down at his cup.

Jasper, gracefully humanlike, turned his head to look at the newcomers. He hid his deep inhale with a swift sweep down of the girls. His apex predator was sizing them up, but to the girls, he was checking them out.

The blonde caught his gaze and blushed, looking down. The redheaded girl tried to get her attention, but the brunette walked past both of them, knocking the blonde with her bag that rested on her back.

"Sorry Hannah," The brunnette girl with the small face said as she stood in line. Edward turned his focus on her, already tired of the blonde girl's thoughts. Of course her thoughts were flooded with how attractive Jasper was, it was part of the vampiric appeal. They were all attractive.

The brunette girl, however, fascinated Edward more than he could bear. She wasn't as pretty as the other two girls, but there was something about her that was different. She was different than anyone else he had ever met. Including vampires.

He couldn't read her. 

She didn't even bother to look at either of them, focused on her beverage of choice. Edward didn't know what that was. It was enthralling to not know. 

"They're young," Jasper mused to him after finally turning his head from the other two girls whose mouths chittered on about some menial boys at school. Their minds, however, were stuck on the two attractive boys in the lobby. 

The blonde, presumably Hannah because that's what the brunette said, thought about the numbers. One for me and one for Desiree. But I get the cute one. Whichever one was the "cute one" was of no matter to Edward. He perused the other's thoughts with a slight curiosity. I don't think I've ever seen them before, do they go to the university?

"Too young for you," Edward teased.

Jasper's thoughts muttered something about being hundreds of years too old for them. Edward had a serene smile on his face and he simply enjoyed the atmosphere. It was different in the small cafe than in any school setting. People of all ages, coming from different backgrounds, all thinking something different with each new person. 

Jasper, whose back was still ramrod straight, had a growing look of ease on his face too. A quick scan of his thoughts showed he was slowly letting his guard down. He wasn’t overwhelmed with any bloodlust, at the very least. 

They sat in the cafe for thirty minutes, relishing in the polite chatter of the room. Some spoke in quiet whispers, some on the phone, and some not speaking at all. 

“I almost feel normal,” Jasper said quietly. “Human.”

Edward agreed with him, “Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you aren’t alive.”

The three girls were studying for an upcoming exam together. Edward was fascinated by the brunette, and his advanced hearing allowed him to find her name was Bella. The redhead was Desiree, and of course the blonde, Hannah. Jasper and he listened to the conversation with boredom, for the content of their school work was rather elementary for their old minds. 

“The brunette,” Edward said to Jasper. “Can you feel hers?”

Jasper nodded, turning his head once more to glance at the girls. Hannah caught his glance and waved shyly; Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I can’t read her,” Edward said quietly. 

Jasper whipped his head around, too quick for a human. His perfect brows scrunched in confusion. “Odd.” He nursed his coffee, pretending to drink it every so often.

The two girls, Desiree and Hannah, weren't friends with Bella from what Edward could tell. Simply partners in a group project that counted towards their final. Hannah did little physically to hide her annoyance for the other girl, and her thoughts were no better. Desiree was impartial to her, or so her thoughts said. 

Bella was an enigma to him. Edward didn’t realize that he relied on his gift to get a gauge on people’s personalities until the moment he couldn’t read Bella. She piqued his interests. She treated both Hannah and Desiree with kindness even though neither were to her, and wasn’t at all curious to the two vampires sitting in the room. 

“You’re right, Edward,” Jasper drawled, relaxing his shoulders at long last. “It’s enjoyable, because all the scents mix together. I wouldn’t say it’s a fun pastime, but I can admire what it is.”

They let some more time pass. Soon they would leave for fear of loitering, but Edward couldn’t stop thinking about the girl. 

Jasper checked his watch, a fancy Rolex Alice had gotten him a few years ago, and looked up to Edward, motioning to the door. They had sat in the cafe for about an hour. They stood and threw the trash away, still full cups of liquid. Edward gave the three girls another look and then opened the door without a second glance. Jasper followed behind him, but something caught his attention. 

“Hey,” A feminine voice behind the two of them said. Hannah was a blushing teenager. Edward barely paid her enough attention to even observe that she had gotten out of her seat. 

“Hello,” Jasper said kindly and he opened the door to the cafe so she could come outside fully. Edward looked at Jasper and saw his body was tense once more. 

“Are... Are you guys from around here?” She asked curiously, looking at Jasper and then to Edward. “I’m Hannah, by the way.”

“I’m Jasper, this is Edward,” He motioned towards Edward. The other two girls rose to see what their project partner was up to. Then, there were five outside. “We’re not from around here, just visiting some family.” 

“Oh!” Hannah said as if it were obvious. It was clear, even without his gift, that she was mustering up courage to do something. “Well if you’re around the area this weekend, my brother is hosting a party. Are you in school?”

“Yes,” Jasper told her, a look on his face that showed his growing discomfort. 

Edward took this to intervene, “Do you have the address? If we’re still in Phoenix by the weekend we may stop by.” Knowing full well this was a lie, he let the girl write the address on a slip of paper and shove it into Edward’s hand. 

“You’re just going to let some strangers have your address?” Bella piped up, an incredulous look on her small face. Her doe eyes were wide. 

Edward glanced at her. There was something about her... 

“They look like they couldn’t hurt a fly, Bella,” Desiree assured her. A wave of amusement and a knowing look quickly shared between the two men was exchanged. 

“Maybe I’ll see you there?” Hannah interrupted shyly, a blush on her face as her eyes hovered over to Jasper. In no time, it was obvious to tell which one of the vampires was the cute one to her. 

“Maybe, Hannah,” Jasper drawled out, a smile on his face from the bravery of this human girl. “It was nice meeting you.”

“You too,” Hannah whispered. Desiree pulled her away and the two of them giggled as they gossiped about what just happened. Girls. Jasper, all too ready to leave the scene, turned away and began walking at a quick pace towards their parked car. 

Bella, however, slowly followed her study group. With one last glance over her shoulder, she locked eyes with Edward Cullen. She broke the contact first, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as the breeze blew in Edward’s direction. 

In the cafe, it wasn’t clear whose smell belonged to whom. In the fresh air, however, he could pinpoint Bella’s smell perfectly. It was her. 

His singer. 

He took a deep breath in, knowing that he could never take a human so young and full of potential away from this world. He took a deep breath in, knowing that this may be the last time he stumbles across the blood that made the venom inside him swell with anticipation. He took a deep breath in, knowing. But he didn’t know the thoughts traveling through her head right now. It unsettled him. 

Edward took a step forward, towards the girl who was already several yards away. Jasper, however, caught his arm. The tight vampire grip on his arm centered him for a moment. He nodded at Jasper, and the two of them departed around the corner towards the car they drove. 

“She’s it,” was all Edward could say. 

“Your singer,” Jasper supplied. All Edward could do was nod. 

“I need to have her.”

-

Later, one March day two years later in Forks, Washington, a new face appeared at the high school the Cullens took part in this round. Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett were all confused why Edward couldn’t stop staring at the girl, but Jasper, following his eyes, knew exactly why. Bella looked back at Edward with intensity, recognizing the face from a memory of the past, but unable to pinpoint where. 

She smelled so good to Edward. Like pastries from a bakery. Like his own heroin.


End file.
